RITCHIE VALENS - Donna / La Bamba (Polydor 66 910) Germany 1959 45
vinyl: VG++ (excellent) light hairlines / plays great.

The ballad "Donna", an ode to Ritchie Valens' high school girlfriend, was the featured title on the original October 1958 release of this single, and reached #2 in the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1959.

The B-side, an upbeat, rock & roll reworking of the Mexican folk song "La Bamba", peaked at #22 in 1959, but became the featured title on reissues after the success of a 1987 Ritchie Valens biopic of the same name. The soundtrack used a faithful cover by Los Lobos rather than Valens' original mono, unpolished recording. The Los Lobos version reached #1 in a half-dozen countries, and the Top 5 in a half-dozen more.

Since he had only spoken English since birth, Valens learned the lyrics of "La Bamba" phonetically from his grandmother.